The present invention relates to a cargo-space cover for a motor vehicle. More particularly this invention concerns such a cover which has its own motor for the opening and/or closing operation.
German patent 100 38 842 of P. Butz describes a motor-vehicle cargo-space cover comprising a pair of rails flanking the space, fixed in the motor vehicle, and defining a pair of slots open toward each other. A housing fixed to ends of the rails extends transversely between their rear ends. A rotatable shaft extends in the housing generally between the slot rear ends and a flexible cover sheet has a rear edge fixed to the shaft and a front edge provided with a stiffening bar having outer ends. Respective slides carried on the bar outer ends are displaceable along the respective slots and into the housing. Thus the outer end of the sheet can be pulled out to deploy the sheet over the cargo space, and can be pushed back in to retract the sheet from above this cargo space. Such a system is effective, but hard to work around and get out of the way, for instance, if the back seat in a station wagon is flopped down to increase the size of the cargo space.
In German 42, 00 021 also of P. Butz the rails are quite short and the outer edge of the cover sheet is pulled completely out to them. The outer ends of the cover-sheet stiffening bar are hooked to special brackets provided in the sides of the vehicle above the cargo space. This arrangement is somewhat hard to use, especially when the sheet is to be retracted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,920 of Crisp has such an arrangement where the slides are each carried on one stretch of a respective endless belt that can be driven by a respective motor back and forth to deploy and retract the sheet. Such an arrangement is very bulky and cannot readily be moved out of the way when the cargo space is to be opened up.
Finally german 40 16 707 of E. Ament has an accordion-folded cover sheet whose slides are carried on longitudinally displaceable drive elements constituted as flexible racks or tapes. This system is also not removable, but instead is a basically one-piece structure that is permanently mounted in the vehicle so that the cargo space cannot be completely opened up without painstaking disassembly of the cover assembly.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved motor-vehicle cargo-space cover.
Another object is the provision of such an improved motor-vehicle cargo-space cover which overcomes the above-given disadvantages, that is which is easy to use, of simple construction, and whose major elements can easily be removed if necessary.
A motor-vehicle cargo-space cover has according to the invention a pair of rails flanking the space, fixed in the motor vehicle, and defining a pair of slots open toward each other and having open rear ends. A housing releasably mounted in the vehicle and extending transversely of the rails between the slot rear ends holds a rotatable shaft extending in the housing generally between the slot rear ends and around which is wound a flexible cover sheet having a rear edge fixed to the shaft and a front edge provided with a stiffening bar having outer ends carrying respective slides displaceable along the respective slots and into the housing. Respective stiff tapes connected to the slides extend rearward therefrom into the housing. A drive in the housing coupled to the stiff tapes pays them out and thereby pushes the slides forward out of the housing into the slots to deploy the sheet over the space and pulls the stiff tapes back into the housing and thereby pulls the slides back and into the housing to retract the sheet from above the space.
Thus with this system when the cover sheet is retracted, the housing carrying it and the drive can be removed readily. Typically according to the invention ends of the housing are fitted in seats of brackets mounted permanently in sides of the cargo space at the rear ends of the also permanently mounted rails. The housing can be simply lifted out of these seats to remove it and completely clear an entire end of the cargo space. When the brackets are provided at the front of a station-wagon cargo space immediately behind the back seat, the back seat can be flopped down and the housing removed to clear the entire space behind the front seats.
According to the invention the drive includes respective drive wheels coupled to the stiff tapes. The housing has ends holding the wheels and forming guides closely surrounding the respective stiff tapes and extending around the respective wheels. Each guide includes an outlet portion directly aligned with the respective slot. When the sheet is retracted the slides are in the respective outlet portions. This makes the entire housing/drive assembly a neat unit that can easily be lifted out of the permanent brackets.
The guides each include a twisting portion deflecting the respective stiff tape into the housing between the housing ends when the sheet is retracted. The arcuate portion extends around the respective wheel between the respective outlet portion and the respective twisting portion. In addition the housing forms a compartment extending between the housing ends and into which the twisting portions open so that the stiff tapes are held in the compartment when the sheet is retracted. This compartment extends between the housing ends and both stiff tapes are mainly held in it when the sheet is retracted, although it is possible to provide two separate compartments, one for each tape. Each twisting portion has an inlet and an outlet extending at right angles to each other. In addition the stiff tape is flat and of generally rectangular section, normally being made of a stiff plastic.
The tapes in accordance with the invention are each formed with a row of perforations. The drive has respective wheels having bumps engaged in the perforations of the respective tapes. Furthermore each housing end includes an end cap formed with a pair of sockets. The shaft is seated in one of the sockets of each housing end and the drive wheels seated are seated in the other of the sockets of each housing end and drivingly engaging the respective tapes. The drive includes a coupling interconnecting the wheels for joint and synchronous rotation and respective electric motors connected to the drive wheels connected to the respective tapes. The motors are mounted in ends of the housing and each drive motor is reversible. Switches operated by the cover sheet control the motors.